The present invention relates to furnishings for offices and the like, and in particular to a freestanding privacy screen.
Privacy screens are generally well-known in the art, and have been used in some types of office environments to provide additional temporary partitioning. Such privacy screens typically include multiple panels that are interconnected side-by-side in a manner which permits them to be fan folded between an extended use position and a retracted storage position.
Heretofore, freestanding privacy screens have been relatively unstable, and tend to tip over rather readily. Also, such privacy screens are generally difficult to fold or otherwise manipulate, since they are prone to skew and bind when one panel is pivoted relative to the next. This skewing action, particularly in combination with the inherent instability of the basic freestanding screen construction, results in substantial operational difficulties. These problems are greatly exacerbated when the screens are used in high density office settings, where their flexible privacy capabilities are found to be especially beneficial.